Child growth: Can you predict adult height?

Answer Section

There's no sure way to tell what a child's adult height will be. But there are ways of making a guess for child growth. For instance:

• Add the mother's height to the father's height in either inches or centimeters.
• Add 5 inches (13 centimeters) for boys or subtract 5 inches (13 centimeters) for girls.
• Divide by 2.

Another way is to double a boy's height at age 2 or a girl's height at age 18 months.

If you're worried about your child's growth, talk with your healthcare professional. Your health professional uses a growth chart to find out if your child is growing well enough and to guess your child's adult height.

To do this, your health professional records your child's height, weight, and body mass index, also called BMI, and the measure of the outside of the child's head, called circumference. The growth chart can compare your child's growth with that of other children the same age and sex.

Keep in mind that genes play the biggest role in a child's height. And that children grow at different rates. Some children begin their growth phases early, while other children begin growing later.